“Gesture
recognition technology interprets human motions using computer
algorithms. Gestures are used as an input mechanism, aimed at replacing
old-fashioned input mechanisms such as keyboards, mouse devices, remote
controls, and various other forms of control devices.”

Sunil Kumar Singh, a lead analyst from Technavio, says, “Gesture
recognition technology interprets human motions using computer
algorithms. Gestures are used as an input mechanism, aimed at replacing
old-fashioned input mechanisms such as keyboards, mouse devices, remote
controls, and various other forms of control devices.”

The top four emerging trends driving the global gesture recognition
market for emerging applications according to Technavio hardware
and semiconductor research analysts are:

Increase in number of M&A

Availability of multifunctional gaming consoles

Development of in-house gesture recognition technology

Power-free gesture recognition

Increase in number of M&A

“The high growth prospects of gesture recognition technology have
compelled vendors across the supply chain to either form strategic
partnership or acquire vendors operating in the global gesture
recognition market. These strategic partnerships and M&A enable both
OEMs, motion sensor vendors, and gesture recognition technology
providers to derive maximum benefit out of the growing market. In the
past five years, the collaborations among the supply chain members are
rising to expand their market presence and increase their market share,”
asserts Sunil.

In 2011, Qualcomm, a provider of next-generation mobile technologies,
acquired the gesture recognition assets of GestureTek Technologies.
Following this, the technology was embedded into Qualcomm’s Snapdragon
processors, which has helped its customers develop
gesture-recognition-enabled devices.

Availability of multifunctional gaming consoles

Multifunctional gaming consoles not only support games but also enable
gamers to watch videos, listen to music, browse the internet, and
download videos. Nintendo's most recent console, Wii U, allows users to
operate the device as a handheld console and use the same console to
browse the internet, draw sketches, and post them on social media
websites. Kinect can also be used to control the TV with a voice
recognition feature. This trend of vendors manufacturing multifunctional
consoles will not only help the gaming console market, but will also act
as an incentive for vendors, who manufacture gesture recognition devices
for gaming consoles.

Companies such as PointGrab and eyeSight will develop products such as
PointSwitch and singlecue, which can control several devices using
gesture recognition. These vendors, in the long run, can develop
products for multifunctional gaming consoles that can also be used to
control other electronic devices.

Development of in-house gesture recognition technology

Samsung, the largest TV manufacturer, has developed its own gesture
recognition technology. Nevertheless, standalone gesture recognition
technology providers, such as PointGrab, which had supplied gesture
recognition technology to Samsung in 2012 and 2013, is going to lose out
to in-house technology. However, the benefit of in-house technology is
much higher than the disadvantage as TV manufacturers can implement the
technology in their TVs at a low cost and flood the market with such
devices, which will increase awareness and drive the market. The
analysts from Technavio expect LG and Sony to launch TVs with in-house
gesture recognition technology.

Power-free gesture recognition

Power-free gesture recognition will probably be the most important
innovation in gesture recognition especially for the consumer electronic
devices. The University of Washington has been developing a technology
named AllSee, which uses wireless signals as a source of power and also
to detect gestures. The sensors used in the device work via wireless
transmissions and can distinguish between gestures based on the change
in amplitude of the signals. The same university has also been
developing SideSwipe, which uses the reflected GSM signals of a
smartphone to power gesture recognition. However, the form factor of
these devices cannot be currently fitted inside a smartphone.
Nonetheless, these technologies are very promising. Such technologies
can also be integrated with other consumer electronic devices, thereby
reducing power consumption.

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About Technavio

Technavio
is a leading global technology research and advisory company. The
company develops over 2000 pieces of research every year, covering more
than 500 technologies across 80 countries. Technavio has about 300
analysts globally who specialize in customized consulting and business
research assignments across the latest leading edge technologies.

Technavio analysts employ primary as well as secondary research
techniques to ascertain the size and vendor landscape in a range of
markets. Analysts obtain information using a combination of bottom-up
and top-down approaches, besides using in-house market modeling tools
and proprietary databases. They corroborate this data with the data
obtained from various market participants and stakeholders across the
value chain, including vendors, service providers, distributors,
re-sellers, and end-users.

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